Introduction

Populous is a peer-to-peer blockchain based platform which facilitates invoice financing for small and medium sized businesses. Populous Platform Tokens (PPT) is one of three cryptocurrencies used on the Populous platform and the only one that is tradeable outside of the ecosystem.

What is Populous

The Populous ecosystem make use of three digital tokens; these are Populous Platform Tokens (PPT), Pokens and Populous XBRL Tokens (PXT). All three of the tokens ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. When we look at the Populous invoice financing process it becomes clearer how these different digital tokens work token. As already mentioned, Populous is a platform for invoice financing. The Populous platform has two types of users. These are users who are selling invoices (businesses) and those who are buying them (investors).

The invoice seller offers the invoice at specific terms. An invoice buyer can then assess the invoice and the terms and decide if they would like to buy. When the buyer makes a bid for the invoice, they set the interest rate. The invoice seller reviews the bid, and if they confirm it, the invoice has then been sold.

So that Populous can provide funds in exchange for their invoice Populous has established a liquidity pool. When an investor wants to invest in an invoice, they purchase Populous Platform Tokens (PPT). These are then collateralised and in exchange Pokens are given based on the current market value. Typically, the market value will be 50% of the market value. These pokens are used by the Populous platform to automatically buy the invoice. If the invoice is repaid, then the investor receives both the investment in Populous Platform Tokens (PPT) and the profit from the Pokens. In short, Pokens are the in-platform currency. Pokens value is directly tied to that of fiat currency in order to maintain stability. These include Pokens tied to EUR, GBP, USD and JPY.

Lastly, Populous also has its own credit rating platform called Populous XBRL. This platform provides credit checks on customers for businesses and financial institutions. This platform uses the PXP cryptocurrency. There are 500 million PXT tokens in circulation.

Where to buy Populous

None of the three cryptocurrencies used by the Populous platform can be mined. Of the three cryptocurrencies, other that PPT, are available for purchase outside of the Populous ecosystem. PPT are available for purchase a number of cryptocurrency exchanges including:

How to Buy Populous

In order to purchase POPULOUS tokens, you first need to purchase ETH. Once you purchase ETH, you can then exchange it for POPULOUS. For this example, we will explain how to purchase ETH on Coinbase, one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges.

Use the link here or click the image above to get $10 in Bitcoin when you purchase or sell your first $100.

Exchanges you shouldnt miss when you want to trade crypto

Why buy Populous

Invoice financing is a huge market. According to one study it was estimated that the total number of unpaid invoices for small and medium (SME) sized business in the United States was valued at $825 billion. Invoice financing allows SMEs to reduce the risk that unpaid invoices pose by selling them at a discount to a third party. That third party then seeks to recover the value of the unpaid invoice. For SMEs this also helps to improve cash flow, as they can be paid for those invoices immediately.

While the market for invoice financing is well established, Populous states that it has a number of advantages over traditional providers. These include lower costs and faster speeds. Populous eliminates the need for any third parties to be involved between the buyer and the seller. Smart contracts that facilitate collecting and releasing payments, further reduce the cost of each transaction. Finally, because the platform is decentralised, it is accessible to invoice buyers and sellers across the globe.

How to sell Populous

As noted earlier, of the three cryptocurrencies on the Populous platform only the PPT token can be sold outside of the Populous ecosystem. To sell the PPT token follow these steps:

Transfer your PPT tokens to one of the cryptocurrency exchanges that are listed above

Trade your PPT tokens for BTC or ETH

Transfer your BTC or ETH to a platform like Coinbase or LocalBitcoins were it can be exchanged for fiat currency

Conclusion

The overall premise of Populous is promising but it is not without challenges. Firstly, Populous is faced direct, well-funded competitors from outside of the blockchain space. These include Fundbox and Behalf which have both raised over a $100 million each from venture capitalists. These two players have been around for longer than Populous and have had more success in attracting businesses to their platform.

This doesn’t mean of course that there isn’t room for a blockchain based alternative. However Populous will need to present a compelling point of differentiation if it is to outperform these well-funded competitors.